The Northeast Master Plan: EP Takes a Stab at Smart Growth

Smart Growth is a concept that has been presented as a way for our city to harness the energy of an unstoppable expansion and use it to our benefit. That concept is soon to be put into practice in Northeast El Paso.

While El Paso continues to grow into the 21st Century, city leaders are looking at ways to control that growth and use it as a tool to improve the quality of life for El Paso residents. They are looking toward Smart Growth.

There has been much debate over the proposed Northeast Master Plan, a plot that would impose strict conditions on exactly what can be built and where, with one of the most contentious components calling for the plan to be developed by a single, master developer.

The company chosen to carry-out the plan will be awarded the sale of over 15,000 acres in Northeast El Paso. With that land, the developer will be required to build several lots for residential construction, ranging from entry level to luxury and senior home units.

The builder will also have to develop areas set aside for commercial activity, known in the plan as town centers.

Several schools are included in the plan, including two high schools, and there is also a requirement to develop the parcel in a way that preserves and promotes green and open spaces, with a golf course adding much of that space near the residential areas.

Critics have said that awarding a contract to one developer, who could be either local or from outside the El Paso area, would be unfair to other local developers.

But supporters claim that firmly adhering to the guidelines of the plan will lead to a viable community that El Paso has never seen before, one that is found in the principles of smart growth.

Rep. Steve Ortega said “what you’re going to see with the Northeast Master Plan and with Hunt (Communities) and Verde (realty) is a different standard for residential development in the community.”

Ortega is a strong supporter of smart growth initiatives and feels that they will improve both the quality of life for El Paso residents and the economic status of the city. “We’ll be creating neighborhoods that, number one, are effective and, number two, attractive.”

Ortega described neighborhoods such as Manhattan Heights, Sunset Heights, and Kern as still being very desirable places to live because they are centered by attractive parks. He also said that those neighborhoods stand in contrast to the neighborhoods built throughout the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. “There’s no question the way we’ve been building for the past 40 years has been the wrong way,” Ortega said.

Former Northeast City Councilman Stan Roberts also is in support of the Northeast Master Plan proposal, said his wife, Jetta Roberts.

Stan Roberts is currently in the hospital due to an accidental fall while turning on his homes air conditioner, but his wife said he and she have always envisioned a development like this for the Northeast. “Our dream for the Northeast has always been to have upscale housing built around the (Painted Dunes) golf course,” she said.

Jetta Roberts also believes that by developing a master-planned community will help to bring “older people with money to El Paso.” That in turn, she said, will help to improve the El Paso economy.

The criticism that having the land developed by a single company does not deter Roberts in her support of the plan, she stated, because the work will still be divided among local companies. “I believe that they will use local contractors, even if it is an outside (developer)” who is awarded the contract.

On Tuesday, Ed Archuleta, General Manager of El Paso Water Utilities, gave a presentation to City Council on the process the Master Plan contract will go through before finally being awarded to a development company.

In his presentation, Archuleta laid out a lengthy list of several goals and major steps for the plan: “initiate a major public/private project to address El Paso and Ft. Bliss growth; create a significant and steady supply of parcels and lots; give to El Paso a major new community based on Smart Growth and sustainability; obtain local involvement in creating community – in master plan and RFQ (request for quote); provide long-term infrastructure, amenities and community facilities; leverage the value of a major parcel to attract a high level of private investment; RFQ screening for experience and minimum qualifications; sealed bid process to follow to insure best price and development standards; and development requirements and covenants included in sale.”

The Players
Of the ten teams that submitted an RFQ, eight were interviewed in April, and six were determined as qualified. They are Cousins Properties, based in Atlanta; E2M/EPT, based in Dallas and El Paso; Forest City/Covington, based in Cleveland and El Paso, Hunt Communities, based in El Paso; Scarbrough Lane Development, based in Dallas and El Paso; and Southwest Land Development, based in El Paso.

Those six companies were scored through five evaluations. They were awarded 10 points for organizations strength and capacity, and 10 each for local participation and HUB, making a total of 20 possible points. Financial requirements and qualifications netted the companies another 30 points, and planning and vision qualifications gave them an opportunity for 20 points.

For a company to qualify, it had to meet a minimum score of 55 out of 80 possible points. Only two companies failed to accumulate the minimum score: Landmark Golf and Watt Co. The presentation cited the companies’ weakness in organizations capacity, strength, vision, and planning financials as the reasons for their low scoring.

Next Steps
The teams chosen were notified in May, and the appraisals, survey and bid documents were finalized on May 31.

The PSB will set a minimum bid price on June 13, and a request for bids will go out the following day, June 14. All bids will be received by July 31.

The PSB will then recommend awards in August, and City Council will award the sale of the land in September.